


Recognition

by Kalypso



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-02
Updated: 2013-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 18:56:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2239800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalypso/pseuds/Kalypso
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the run from the Federation, Deva asks a smuggler to take him on board.  But what will he do when he meets his cabin-mate?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recognition

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for the Freedom City Birthday Party of 2013.

"Have you got a free berth on your ship's next run?"

The captain appraised me coolly. "Where do you want to go?"

A good question. Wherever would take me. Teal was a possible, if I could get there. Or Horizon, but that was even further out. And even if I did have an idea of where I might end up, I didn't really want to be handing out clues at this stage.

"I'm trying to get to Freedom City, but I'll settle for anywhere on the way."

That wasn't giving much away, I hoped. Plenty of routes crossed at Freedom City.

"And who's after you?"

I sighed. But it was obvious enough when a stranger asked a smuggler to take him anywhere she might be going. "Do you really want to know?"

"If it means they might turn up on my tail, yes."

"It's complicated. There are people I used to work for, and then some others..."

"So, at a guess, we're looking at any Federation agent and a few independents?"

I shrugged. "That would be about the size of it." I turned to leave.

"Any useful skills?"

I turned back again and stared at her. "I'm sorry?"

"Anything you can contribute on the journey?"

"I can pay the going rate, of course..."

"That's good, but is there anything else?"

"I... know my way around computer systems." Admitting even that much could be risky, but if she might take me... The Trantinian had turned me down flat.

She laughed, a little bitterly. "Oh, one of _those_."

"Yes." I looked at her in confusion. For the first time, she smiled.

"Welcome aboard. You'll be in the second cabin on the left."

I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and followed her on to the ship.

 

The cabin was small, with most of the facilities built into the left-hand wall as I entered; bunks, cupboards, fold-out chairs, washing facilities. There was a man lying in the bottom bunk. I coughed.

"Hullo?" I said. "Sorry if I've woken you. I think we're sharing. My name's Silva."

Swinging his legs off the bunk, he stood up. A tall man, his left eye bandaged, his right eye taking me in. He held out his hand, and I shook it. He didn't offer me his name. He didn't particularly need to.

"Are you crew, or another passenger?" I asked.

"Somewhere between the two," he said. "I've travelled with the captain on and off for a few years."

Friends, then. So if she knew who he was, she'd already decided against turning him in. If she didn't... would she consider it, for half the bounty? She'd be wiser to take the lot, and throw me in for a small bonus. That was what I'd do.

Would I?

He was clearing one of the wall-lockers for my bag. "It's a couple of hours to take-off. Do you want a drink or snack? The galley's down the corridor on the right..."

"No, thanks. I get nervous around take-off; I can never keep anything down."

He looked at me, considering. "It sounds as if a distraction is in order. Do you play chess?"

"Yes. Not sure I can promise you my best game, but I'd like that. Thank you."

He unfolded a couple of seats from the wall, and a table between them, and pulled a chess set from one of the other cupboards. Wooden pieces, at least a couple of centuries old. I helped him to set them out; he offered me white.

It was strange playing face to face with an opponent, and in real time, never mind on a real board. In recent years, I'd played most of my chess over some very long distances, against people whose faces I never saw. Or that was what they thought. I usually had a file of images and facts about my chess-players available within five moves.

This was more like thinking on your feet, and I had to concentrate more than usual. My cabin-mate was right, it did take my mind off our impending departure - and the other things I should have been thinking about. He clearly hadn't encountered Belkov's Gambit very often, but improvised well to counter it. The advantage was his when we heard the captain's voice telling us to prepare for departure, and had to put the chess pieces back in the box.

"Do you prefer the bunk or a seat for strapping yourself in?" he asked.

"Seat." We sat down next to each other and fastened the straps as the ship began to move.

"So," he said. "How much money on _your_ head?"

"What?!"

I couldn't manage anything else for the next few minutes as we raced through the atmosphere. For once, I was more frightened of what would happen once we were out in space than of being blown apart on the way there. I almost wished the physical ordeal would last longer...

But it finished, and my companion was calmly unstrapping himself.

"You've a pretty good idea of what _I'm_ worth," he continued, as if there had been no interruption.

"I have?"

"You recognised me as soon as you saw me. Your eyes widened, and you haven't quite looked me in the face since then."

I flushed, and made myself meet that single bright eye. "Roj Blake. I was in security. I once used your face as the prototype for a facial recognition program."

"Security?" He chuckled. "And where did it all go wrong?"

"I enjoyed it too much." Blake frowned at that, so I tried to correct myself. "I don't mean... not the physical side. But the theory, the exploration of what one could do. I kept following the possibilities, beyond my instructions."

"Tell me more."

"My speciality was tracing people, through the tiny details, the fingerprints if you like, that they left behind. They'd change their names, their appearances, but sooner or later they'd interact with a computerised system somewhere, and they'd give themselves away. There'd always be patterns to how they behaved, what they did first, how they signed off. And to answer your question, I don't know what I'm worth; looking myself up is exactly the sort of clue that would betray me." I smiled ruefully. "I don't flatter myself that it's very much. I became inconvenient, that's all."

"You knew too much?"

"I stumbled across things - and people - I wasn't supposed to know about. When I heard that a certain Commissioner Sleer was taking an interest in my work, I knew the game was up. I'd left too many fingerprints myself, before I realised that they could be traced back to me in exactly the same way."

"Sleer?"

"You knew her as Servalan."

"Ah..." he said. "So she didn't die at Geddon."

"No."

"Do you want to unstrap yourself?" he asked suddenly. "It should be safe now."

"Oh! Thanks." I'd completely forgotten I was still fastened down, and began to free myself.

"So what are your plans now?"

"I don't know. I was hoping to reach a neutral planet and claim asylum."

"Hm." He paused in thought. "I've contacts in various places. Albian might be a good bet, but they've only recently re-established their independence. There's Lindor, but they still have to tread carefully. The trouble with most of the places where you might like to go is that you could be traced, if what you say is true, and they might be hard put to protect you if the Federation demanded extradition. The safest planets, from your point of view, would be the ones with little or no technology. But I can't see you living somewhere like Goth."

"No. I was hoping one of the neutrals might be interested in using my skills..."

"But that makes you conspicuous again, and gives the Federation a greater incentive to demand your return. Or kill you, which is probably easier. Have you considered an open planet?"

" _No._ I wouldn't last a week among those gangs of criminals."

"Oh, I don't know. If you picked the right gang of criminals, on a planet that's trying to clean itself up... But we haven't considered the obvious solution."

"Which is?"

"You leave this ship at a suitable destination, contact the Federation and offer them information on the whereabouts of a dangerous terrorist in exchange for your safety."

I couldn't speak; could hardly breathe. There was no way Blake would let me go free. And, as he said, killing me was easier.

I heard the door to the cabin slide open, and the captain's voice asked "So, are you getting on with Morgan?"

I looked at her, and her face seemed open; she doesn't know who Morgan is, I thought, I can still offer her the deal, a share in the bounty, or the whole of it if she lets me go free.

"...Yes," I said. "Yes, he's been very kind. We played chess to settle my nerves."

Where would I run to, after all? And I thought that Blake would do it humanely. Yes, I realised with some surprise: I trusted him, that far at least.

"It's all right, Jenna," he said. "Silva knows who I am."

"And that _is_ all right?" she asked.

I was a fool; of course, she was Jenna Stannis, the pilot. In my defence, I had never used her to develop a facial recognition program.

"Deva," I said. "My name is Deva."

"I think we're all right," said Blake. "We were just discussing open planets. Deva, will you come with me? I'm setting up a base on Gauda Prime, and I could use you there."

"I could still betray you," I said. "I could wait until we were settled, and then tell the Federation where you were. Much easier than giving a description of the ship and your last known whereabouts."

"Thanks for warning me," he said. "But I don't think you will. You know the Federation will come looking for you sooner or later, and the non-aligned worlds will endanger themselves if they try to defend you. So you might as well forget neutrality, and fight back. I can't promise you safety, but I can offer you somewhere you belong. And there's always the outside chance we might win."

"I'll come with you," I said, and began to laugh. "It won't be the first time I've sent computer skills your way..." Blake and Jenna looked as if they thought I might be hysterical, so I explained. "Years ago, I caught a man trying to steal five million credits from the banking system. I thought they'd be grateful. I thought I'd get promotion. But on the way to Cygnus Alpha he escaped and joined a gang of dangerous terrorists, and it took years to clear the black mark against my name, if I ever did. So even if I did hand you over I know that wouldn't save me; I never really trusted the Federation again. What _did_ happen to Avon?"

"That's one thing you might be able to find out," said Blake. "But the main job on Gauda Prime will be recruiting an army of rebels. You can help me to check their backgrounds, and weed out any spies, or those who are just too dangerous. Actually, this talk of prices on our heads has reminded me of your bounty-hunting Amagon friends, Jenna; I think I might be able to do something with it."

Jenna rolled her eyes and said there'd be food in the galley when we wanted it. I rose to follow her.

"So you're coming with us?" asked Blake.

"Yes," I said. "I recognise the best alternative when I see it. I'll follow you."


End file.
